Deer gun week has started in our area, so hunters are out en masse trying to bag the big ones. In a couple of days there will be a front page picture in our local paper of a hunter squatting next to a big dead buck. And then begins the tirade. The online edition of our paper has a comments section where folks are able to sound off on various topics and spout their opinion no matter how abrasive or inane. Already people are up in arms regarding deer hunting.
There seems to be 3 major groups that feel the need to vent and they are 1)earth-crunchy animal lovers, often vegetarians 2) clueless, disconnected folk who think that all deer are Bambi and 3) rednecks. I respect the vegetarians who think it's wrong to eat any sort of meat. I respect the rednecks who eat what they shoot. In fact, my friend Jim oft referred to me as "sawed-off little redneck". (Of course he was from LA.) It's the clueless folk who get my goat. They gripe and moan at the cruel, cold-hearted hunters who wipe out the deer population, then they sit down with a burger from McDonald's, feeling bloated with superiority for not killing a gentle, helpless creature. Um. Hello? The phone is ringing but noone is home.
I think one of the major problems with our society today is it's total disconnect from reality. People say killing a deer is cruel and cold-hearted, but it's okay to eat a cow that was confined in a 2 by 4 pen, repeatedly jolted with a cattle prod and possibly skinned alive. That's okay because when it arrives at the Walmart meat department, it's pretty and packaged and in no way resembles an animal. Oh, and the fact cows are big, smelly and dumb, that makes it okay too.
Not like a deer.
Deer are sweet, gentle and have retained their natural human-like qualities. They're friendly with skunks, talk to rabbits and fall in love. Disney's 'Bambi' proved that. And everyone loves Bambi, so we shouldn't eat him, but Daisy the Cow, we'll just throw her under the bus because everyone knows what cows are really like.
Does that make sense to anyone but the aforementioned clueless folk???
How different things would be if we were forced to raise and process our own meat. Or if we were privy to what really goes on in factory farms and slaughter houses. But for now, we are blissfully ignorant of all the ugly things in life, comfortably superior to the animals that feel the need to hunt their food, be they human or another species. We're disconnected from reality and we're happy that way.
At some point, the delusion MUST give way to fact. Right?
Best wishes,
The sawn-off little redneck.
6 comments:
I think it is funny to talk to people who don't like hunting. Because is mean or bad and then you look down and see they have on leather boots or a big leather bag from a big store in the mall. But just as you said the cow is big smelly and dumb and the leather is from a leather tree. This group of people will not make it after the big fall. I do still pray for them because they will need all the help they can get.
Unless someone has NEVER eaten a piece of meat since they became able to provide for themselve, worn a stitch of leather or in any way shape or form used an animal for their benefit, I call them what they are - hypocrites.
How dare they presume to tell anyone how they are able to provide for their food. From the grocery store, from the stream or lake, from the ranch or from the wilds - it doesn't matter, they are all different ways of harvesting (killing) another animal to sustain YOUR life.
As you may have guessed, I have little tolerance for hypocrites ;-)
my brother and I found two deer that had been killed and eaten by wolves last week, while we were out hunting.
How do the Bambi-folks account for that? The wolves are far more cruel than a hunter, as they gnaw into the still living deer!
OH! Bless your heart for this blog! And don't forget about the lil chickens that are in cages too small to stand up while they're makin those eggs! And don't even get me started on veal!
OU--I've heard things LOL. We live near Wittenberg U and have a lot of the crunchy individuals there too! I think it comes with the higher learning and bloated bank accounts ;)
Jim was probably right...I probably am nothing but a little sawn-off redneck because I'm thrilled to have the biggest part of a deer in my freezer. And like Pete and CI said...unless you're a vegetarian/vegan who doesn't wear leather, you're a hypocrite for criticizing deer hunters. At least I know where my food comes from and what it ate before I ate it.
Georgia has a problem in this regard. Hunting has been declining for several years. This has meant lost income for the Forest Service, it has lead to a horrific increase in the number of car vrs. deer accidents on our roads, and we have had a big increase in disease among the deer herds. I'm not, myself, a hunter but this does not keep me from recognizing the beneficial aspects of the sport.
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